Various devices have heretofore been provided for attaching an adjustable mask, telephone communication components, or the like to a hard hat or protective helmet; however, because of certain design characteristics inherent in such devices and/or hard hats, the attaching assemblies or devices were beset with one or more of the following shortcomings: (a) the attachment between the mask and hat was insecure and unstable and therefore did not provide the desired protection to, or utility for, the wearer; (b) it was a difficult and awkward manipulation to attach the device to the hard hat; (c) the device embodied an inordinate number of components; and (d) the device was of costly, complex and fragile construction and susceptible to malfunction.